wfn.org | Native American ministry strengthened

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3106 notes).

Note 3105 by UMNS on Aug. 6, 1996 at 16:16 Eastern (3485 characters).

SEARCH: Native American, annual conference, ministry, mission
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Linda Green                           391(10-34-71){3105}
      Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470               August 6, 1996

Training event prepares conference leaders
to strengthen Native American ministries

by Ginny Underwood*

     TULSA, Okla. (UMNS) --  The National Native American
Comprehensive Plan of the United Methodist Church held the first
of five jurisdictional training events to strengthen annual
conference Committees on Native American Ministry, here, Aug. 2-4.
     These events are designed to help annual conference
committees understand their role as advocates for Native American
ministries and learn to create new mission opportunities or
strengthen existing ones with Native American people.
     Mandated by the 1992 General Conference and continued by the
1996 General Conference, the Native American Comprehensive Plan
(NACP) focuses on congregational development, leadership
development, Native American spirituality and inclusion of Native
Americans in the total life of the United Methodist Church.
     The United Methodist Book of Discipline mandates that each
annual conference shall have an "Annual Conference Committee on
Native American Ministry" to monitor Native American ministries
and to promote Native American Awareness Sunday.
     The majority of the 32 participants attending the first
training event were from the 17 annual conferences in the South
Central Jurisdiction (region) of the United Methodist Church and
were not Native Americans.  
     According to Ann Saunkeah, chair of the denominational
presence committee of the NACP, the event allows participants to
network within their region and to share ideas for ministry.
     "Many of the conferences that have Native American committees
don't know where to start," Saunkeah said.  "This is a good
opportunity for them to share ideas and frustrations because we
find committees are at different levels of existence."
     James Wrede, conference staff member from Northwest Texas,
said the training is important because the Northwest Texas
conference is inexperienced in dealing with Native American
ministries.  "This training has kept me from thinking that we need
to 'institute' a program for Native American ministries, but to
make sure we know who we are dealing with," Wrede said.  "We don't
need to be in ministry for them, but with them.".
     Workshop leaders provided participants with models on how to
identify Native Americans in each jurisdiction and steps for
outreach ministry. 
     The 1990 census indicates there are 582,952 Native Americans
residing within the South Central Jurisdiction. More than 100
Native American ministries exist in the Oklahoma Indian Missionary
Conference, five in Kansas, two in Louisiana, one in Nebraska and
two in Texas.  No Native American ministries have been identified
in Arkansas or Missouri.
     The next training event is scheduled later this year for the
states with active Native American ministries in the southern part
of the denomination's Western Jurisdiction.
                              #  #  #

     * Underwood is director of the Native American Office of
Communication, part of United Methodist Communications in
Nashville, Tenn.

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